


Bruised Inside and Out

by Cello_trash



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Getting Together, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Episode: s01e06 Countrycide, Self-Worth Issues, Trans Ianto Jones, but like its barely even mentioned its not a major plot point, ftm ianto, they eventually talk about their feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:28:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28543320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cello_trash/pseuds/Cello_trash
Summary: “Jesus, Ianto,” Jack whispered, running over and ghosting his fingers along Ianto's stomach, up over his ribs, finally resting on Ianto’s neck, cradling the younger man’s head as he seemingly tried to catalog every bruise and cut on Ianto’s body with his eyes.“You said it was only a couple of bruises, Ianto… this… you could have died, Ianto you could be bleeding internally, your kidneys could be damaged,” Jack’s voice had turned panicked as he fully realized how badly Ianto had been hurt.Set right after Countrycide; Ianto tries to hide how hurt he is and Jack takes care of him and they eventually talk about feelings
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Comments: 18
Kudos: 114





	1. Badly kept secrets

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in this fandom although I've loved this show for years hope y'all enjoy! Haven't watched the show in a while so if there are any contradictions with canon pretend they're purposeful lol. Not beta read all mistakes my own

Ianto sat in the passenger’s side of the Torchwood van, doing his best not to move at all. If he moved he knew he’d wince, or even worse make some sort of noise indicating that he was in pain, and if that happened Jack would be on him in an instant. He had tried to tell Jack that he was fine, that it was only Gwen and Tosh who needed medical attention, but the older man had simply stared at him for a minute and then forced the car keys out of Ianto’s hand and herded Ianto into the passenger’s seat, ignoring his complaints about Jack’s driving.

“I can drive sir,” Ianto had meekly protested.

“You’re hurt,” Jack had said sternly and when Ianto opened his mouth to argue, Jack had added, “And don’t try and tell me you’re not, you must have at least a couple bruises.”

“Even with a couple of bruises, compared to your truly abysmal driving skills I think I’m still the safer choice sir,” Ianto had chirped back, making Jack smile. “I’d rather not crash and die when you take a turn too fast sir, I’ve already almost been eaten today no need to add motor vehicle accident to the list.”

Ianto had thought he could joke about it, but the moment he mentioned the cannibals he shivered in fear. Jack had had his arm on Ianto’s shoulder, and he gave the young man a gentle smile at the shiver as he pushed him into the car. So needless to say, Jack was already suspicious, and Ianto had no intention of drawing anymore attention to himself tonight. The interaction they’d had arguing about the car had been close to how they’d been before Lisa, but overall things between Jack and Ianto were still awkward and stilted. He didn’t need to add pity to the list of ways Jack treated and looked at him. And when Ianto thought about it, the pain he was in was well deserved. He deserved to be punished for Lisa. He deserved to be punished for not being strong enough to save Tosh from being beaten. He deserved to be punished for falling for the man who had killed Lisa (although that last one wasn’t exactly fair, Ianto had realized weeks ago that Lisa truly had died in London).

So Ianto tried his best not to move and he tried his best not to acknowledge the fact that Jack kept on glancing over to look at him with worry every couple of seconds. He listened to Owen fretting over Gwen, and was angry on Tosh’s behalf that the doctor didn’t seem to care about her wounds. Or at least not as much as he cared about Gwen’s wellbeing. 

Besides for Owen and Gwen’s whispered conversations, the car ride was completely silent for the hour and a half it took for them to get back to Cardiff. First they dropped off Gwen and Owen at the hospital. Next, Jack drove to Tosh’s flat, walking her inside. Ianto wasn’t sure how long exactly Jack stayed with Tosh, but sometime later he was woken from his light sleep by Jack opening his door, climbing back into the driver’s seat, and restarting the van. 

Ianto had thought he had been in pain when he’d first been rescued by Jack, but now that the adrenaline had fully worn off, that pain was nothing compared to how he was feeling now. When Jack pulled up in front of Ianto’s flat, the younger man braced himself as he climbed out of the van. Or maybe the more appropriate phrase would be tried to climb out of the van. The minute he put pressure on his legs and attempted to stand, his body was overcome with pain so intense that his vision whited out and he slumped against the van.

Before he could try to push himself back up he felt strong, warm hands wrap around his body and support him. Ianto cried out in pain as Jack’s arms squeezed his ribs in his attempt to help, and Jack shushed him quietly, “You’re going to be okay Ianto, I’ve got you.”

It took the two men probably four times as long as it normally would to climb up the stairs to Ianto’s flat and get inside, but by working together and taking frequent breaks to let Ianto try and catch his breath, they made it. 

“You need to take some painkillers and then get clean before you go to bed,” Jack ordered, leading Ianto to the bathroom. Jack had become quite familiar with Ianto’s flat after the incident with Lisa when he would come visit every couple of days during Ianto’s suspension to make sure Ianto hadn’t offed himself. 

“Are you saying I smell bad sir?” Ianto tried for his normal sarcastic tone, but it just sounded tired, even to his own ears. 

Jack sat Ianto down on the toilet seat cover and rummaged through the cabinet until he pulled out the aspirin. “This won’t do much, but hopefully it’ll help,” Jack dumped three pills in Ianto’s hand. “Why don’t you start undressing while I get you some water from the kitchen.”

Jack had a way of making even suggestions sound like orders, and Ianto slowly began unbuttoning his bloody dress shirt, but once it was open he found that he couldn’t move enough to take it off. He unbuttoned his pants, but the same problem occurred, and Ianto found himself sitting with his buttons undone waiting for Jack to come back and help him like a child. This was utterly humiliating. He heard Jack’s footsteps heading back towards him and the older man started to say, “Do you think you’ll be able to stand on your own in the shower or do you need he-,” Jack had clearly caught sight of the ugly bruises that covered Ianto’s torso and when Ianto looked up at him, Jack looked pale.

“Jesus, Ianto,” Jack whispered, running over and ghosting his fingers along Ianto's stomach, up over his ribs, finally resting on Ianto’s neck, cradling the younger man’s head as he seemingly tried to catalog every bruise and cut on Ianto’s body with his eyes.

“You said it was only a couple of bruises, Ianto… this… you could have died, Ianto you could be bleeding internally, your kidneys could be damaged,” Jack’s voice had turned panicked as he fully realized how badly Ianto had been hurt.

“I’ll be fine with a good night's sleep sir,” Ianto mumbled, trying not to meet Jack’s eyes. Whenever Jack decided to turn his full attention on you it was intense, like you were under a microscope, and it made Ianto feel vulnerable in a completely different way than his injuries did. 

“No,” Jack stated definitively, “I’m calling Owen and he’ll decide whether you should go to the hospital or not. I'm not going to just risk you dying of internal injuries once you fall asleep.” Jack took his cell out of his back pocket and hit Owen’s contact. At this point Ianto didn’t even have the energy to argue with the captain.

After several rings Owen picked up, and Ianto just sort of zoned out. He could hear Jack talking, but he was just so exhausted that his mind couldn’t even focus on what Jack was saying. After a few minutes, Jack squatted down in front of Ianto so that he could look Ianto in the eyes.

“Owen says that Gwen’s been discharged and is back home safe and sound and that he’s driving over now to check you over.” 

Ianto stared blankly ahead, nodding slightly. Jack gave him a strained smile and offered, “here let me help you get out of these clothes before Owen gets here, he’ll want you in your boxers anyways so he can do a full exam now that we know that you aren’t always truthful to us about the extent of your injuries.” There was definitely a bit of reproach in Jack’s tone, but it was honestly nice to have someone seem to care, so Ianto didn’t mind. Jack helped him strip out of his shirt and pants and then grabbed a cloth and soap.

“I don’t want to put you in the shower until I have the go ahead from Owen, but I can at least wipe you down so you aren’t covered in all this grime huh?” 

Ianto didn’t say anything at first, but when he realized that Jack was waiting for his permission before doing anything he whispered out, “yes please,” and Jack immediately set to work sponging him down. The capitan gently washed over his arms, giving extra tenderness to his ribs and stomach where the damage seemed to be the worst, methodically ringing out the cloth everytime it got too dirty. Eventually, Jack threw the dirty cloth into the sink and helped Ianto to his feet, patting him dry with a towel. 

“Let’s go to the bedroom,” Jack suggested, “there you can at least lay down while we wait for Owen.”

Jack had to practically carry Ianto to the bed and he gently placed him down. Ianto briefly thought about how he was still getting his sheets dirty but he pushed that aside and tried to enjoy the feeling of the soft mattress. Ianto closed his eyes; his head hurt just as much as the rest of him. He jumped slightly when he felt Jack run his hands through his hair, massaging his scalp, but quickly leaned into it. Jack chuckled softly.

Maybe it was due to being hit in the head several times today, but before he could process what he was thinking, Ianto quietly asked, “Why are you here?”

Jack’s hand stilled but when Ianto let out a small whimper (which he would deny forever) he continued lightly scratching Ianto’s scalp. “Why wouldn’t I be here?” Jack shot back.

“Because I don’t deserve it,” Ianto couldn't seem to stop himself from saying the first thing that crossed his mind, “I’ve failed all of you several times and this is penance.”

“I’ve forgiven you for Lisa, Ianto,” Jack said seriously, “And you didn’t fail anyone today… you know what Tosh kept saying when I walked her up to her flat? That you were incredibly brave and that you saved her, Ianto. There’s nothing for you to serve penance for, do you understand that?”

Ianto whined, “Jack, right now my brain hurts and I don’t seem to have a filter please don’t ask me questions right now please this isn’t fair to me, I can’t control what I share please,” he begged, tears streaming down his face for the first time all day. He had never felt more stripped bare than he did right now. Jack could ask him all sorts of personal things right now and Ianto wasn’t sure that he’d be able to keep himself from answering 100% truthfully.

“Ok, thank you Ianto for telling me about your head. We'll have Owen check you over for a concussion as well, okay,” he paused for several seconds. “I can’t let you fall asleep, especially now that I know about your head, but would you like to not talk about anything right now?”

“Yes please, Sir.”

“Call me Jack, Ianto, I’m not your boss right now I’m your friend…”

“My friend?” Ianto asked, his voice breaking badly on ‘friend.’ He heard Jack swear, but he wasn’t sure about what.

“Shh, Ianto, we can talk about this once you're feeling better okay? Once you feel like you’re back in control okay? Let’s just enjoy the quiet,” Jack soothed.

And so the two of them sat in silence, Jack playing with Ianto’s hair, as they waited for Owen to arrive. Jack eventually heard a knock at the door and called for Owen to come in, they’d never locked the front door.

The surly doctor strolled into the bedroom a few seconds later, “Oyy, Teaboy, heard you’re injured,” Owen said, and while his words were the same in how he always talked to Ianto, his voice lacked his normal caustic tone as he glanced over Ianto’s battered body.

Ianto allowed Owen to poke and prod and do all the tests he needed to, Jack helping him sit up. After about half an hour, Owen took a step back, “Well Teaboy, you’ve got yourself a concussion… it should clear up within the week and you should start to feel better within the next 48 hours. You’re bruised and I’d wager that at least one of your ribs is fractured, but if you had severe internal bleeding you would’ve already gone into shock or showed other symptoms by now.”

Jack laid Ianto back down, “So what does that mean?”

Owen ran his hand through his hair, “It means that if you really don’t want to you don’t have to go to the hospital tonight, but tomorrow you’re going to.” Ianto opened his mouth to protest, but Owen cut him off, “look Teaboy, as I said you almost definitely have some minor breaks and while I can say with fairly good certainty that this isn’t a ‘bad’ concussion we’ll need a CT to confirm, so tomorrow you’ll be getting some x-rays and a CT even if we have to drag you to the hospital in handcuffs.” Owen looked to Jack for back up, and the older man nodded in agreement.

“That’s an order Ianto, you will be going to the hospital tomorrow once you’ve had some rest,” he said sternly before turning back to Owen, “he is allowed to sleep correct?”

“Yep, he’ll need it. You don’t have to wake him up unless he does on his own. I’ll give him a dosage of Percocet now to lessen the pain and I’ll leave some with you but do not give him more than I’ve ordered without talking to me first no matter how much pain he’s in,” he said as he watched Ianto swallow the pills he’d given him.

When Jack nodded again, Owen yawned, “Alright I’m going to take my leave, if anything changes call me.”

“Try and get some sleep Owen,” Jack said and Owen gave him a tired thumbs up before leaving the apartment. Jack locked the door behind him and returned to Ianto’s room to find that the younger man had already fallen asleep. There was a lot that they needed to talk about, but it would wait until morning. Jack pulled up a chair by the bed and leaned back in it, preparing for a long night of keeping watch over Ianto.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left a nice comment on the 1st chapter it meant a lot to me that y'all enjoyed it so much. Hope this chapter lives up to the expectations :)

Ianto ended up having a mild concussion, two broken ribs, four badly bruised ribs, and was given two weeks off of work to recover unless there was a world ending emergency (which now that he thought about it was more than likely at Torchwood). Once it was clear that Ianto wasn’t going to die if left alone, Jack had gone back to work. However, every night he came by with takeout and would stay with Ianto late into the night. 

There had been a day, three days into his sick leave, that Ianto had tried to show up at the hub only to immediately be driven home by Jack personally and told to not return unless ordered to. 

“I’m feeling perfectly fine now sir!” Ianto had complained but Jack had simply shook his head. 

“Three days ago you were so fucked up you couldn’t even stand by yourself. You’re taking the two weeks off Ianto.” Jack looked over when they stopped at a red light, gripping the wheel tightly, “I don’t care how many times you try to show up I will escort you back to your flat... you should know by now how stubborn I am.” He flashed Ianto his patented Jack Harkness smirk and Ianto felt himself melt a little bit in his seat. Fuck Jack Harkness and his charm. 

Ianto had expected Jack to demand the conversation he’d started that first night the minute he had woken up the next morning, but to his surprise (and relief) it took a full week before Jack brought it up. He showed up with takeout like he had every night before, sat down on the couch next to Ianto, and just stared at the younger man. Ianto felt his face flush under Jack’s undivided attention, and when the captain didn’t offer any comments for a minute, Ianto cleared his throat awkwardly. 

“Is there something you need sir?” Ianto flicked his eyes up at Jack and then immediately back down to his hands in his lap. 

“I’ve told you Ianto, please call me Jack, especially when we’re not at work…”

“I don’t really see why this is a big deal all of a sudden si- Jack,” Ianto said, correcting himself at the last minute. 

Jack ran his hands over his face, “I’m making a deal of it now because I didn’t realize just how many mistakes I’ve made in relation to you.”

Ianto felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. Jack had said a week ago that he hadn’t failed anyone, but now he was saying that Ianto being in Torchwood was a mistake? Ianto wasn’t able to suppress a high pitched keen as he realized that Jack was going to probably retcon him any moment now. 

At that sound, Jack whipped his head around to look at Ianto, “What’s wro-”

But before Jack could finish his question Ianto pleaded, “Can I at least remember Lisa please don’t take her completely away from me please.”

“Wh-what are you talking about?” Jack demanded. Ianto’s hands trembled in his lap. 

“You’re saying that it was a mistake for you to hire me and you’re going to retcon me... is that why you’ve been bringing me food this past week, so I’ll get used to it and not question it until you slip it into my drink or my food? Please I can prove myself, give me another chance and I won’t let you do-” The rest of Ianto’s rambling, panicked speech was muffled as Jack clamped his hand over the younger man’s mouth, trying to get him to stop talking so Jack could clear up this wild miscommunication. 

“No no no Ianto, Jesus I keep fucking this up... I’m not retconning you!” Jack tried to make as direct eye contact with Ianto as possible so he would see that he was telling the truth. “It’s kind of the opposite of retcon, I’ve realized that even after all you said during the cyberwoman incident I still haven’t made you feel like you’re really part of the team. Like you’re needed. And that’s wrong of me.”

Ianto was staring wide eyed at Jack as he tried to comprehend what Jack was saying. “You’re saying that you think I’m important?” Ianto was so shocked that he couldn’t throw up his internal defenses before the question slipped out of his mouth. 

“You’re more important to this team than you could ever imagine,” Jack implored, “Please Ianto, I consider you a friend, so please call me Jack… I thought that you called me ‘sir’ all the time to rile me up, but then… after what you said last week I realized that you always call me that because you probably think you don’t deserve to be any closer than a distant colleague to me, and that’s so wrong, you’re so much more than that.” 

Damn Captain Jack Harkness. When he wanted to be he could be incredibly perceptive. Ianto was having no issues understanding the individual words that Jack was saying, but there was so much evidence that pointed towards Ianto being a bad employee and a worse person, that Ianto wasn’t sure if he was comprehending what Jack was telling him correctly. 

“Jack…” Ianto started cautiously, “I don’t like bringing it up again, but I could have ended the entire world because I couldn’t accept that my girlfriend was dead. I think that more than proves that at best I’m a hindrance to Torchwood, and a treasonous liar at worst…”

Jack grabbed Ianto's hands and held them in his own, “Ianto, I forgave you for that weeks ago and I thought that you knew that…”

A little bit of indignation mixed in with the confusion Ianto was feeling, “How the fuck was I supposed to know that Jack, you never told me.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish.

“Yeah, that’s one of the things I definitely messed up and I’m sorry. So I’m going to tell you now: I forgive you Ianto.”

A warm feeling filled Ianto, but something was holding him back from feeling happy or relieved, “Did Tosh really say that she thought I was brave, or did you just make that up to make me feel better?”

“She wouldn’t stop talking about you,” Jack smiled gently, before his face took on a more serious note once again, “And I’m not disagreeing with her, Ianto, what you did was incredibly brave, but to be completely honest…it also seemed a bit, well actually a lot, suicidal.”

The cold feeling was back and Ianto studied his shoes, unable to look at the older man. “I never asked you how you were doing after Lisa,” Jack sounded choked up, “I came to your flat to make sure you were still alive, but I never showed any actual interest in your health… I thought I was creating boundaries to protect myself, but it was at the expense of your wellbeing.”

Trying to deflect, Ianto stated, “You sacrifice yourself for us all the time.”

Jack looked desperate, “But I will always come back Ianto! You’re mortal, I can’t lose you!” Jack was breathing unsteadily, chest rising and falling violently. 

“I think you need to talk to someone Ianto…”

“I’m not sure I can do much more talking tonight to be honest Jack,” Ianto mumbled.

“I’m not talking about talking to me about it.” When Ianto flinched, Jack insisted, “Don’t misunderstand me, Ianto, I do want you to share how you’re feeling with me, but I also think you need to talk to a professional… someone approved by Torchwood so you can tell them everything.”

Ianto bit his lip hard, drawing blood, and Jack reached over and gently pulled the lip from under his teeth, “Please don’t hurt yourself.”

“I, can I just think about this for a while, I- you know I’m not good at this Jack, I just need to sleep on it…”

Jack looked reluctant, but agreed, “Alright let’s eat huh? I’ll go reheat the food and we can watch one of those Bond movies you like so much.” Jack squeezed Ianto’s shoulder firmly before standing up and moving to the kitchen.

The rest of the night passed peacefully, Jack not mentioning any of the things they had talked about earlier. Half way through the movie, when they’d long finished eating, Ianto felt Jack’s arm reach around his shoulder, but pulling Ianto closer to him, just as a steady, comforting presence. When the movie was over, Jack made to stand up, “You should probably get to bed, it’s getting pretty late.”

Ianto reached out and grabbed Jack’s wrist, causing the older man to turn back around. Ianto opened and closed his mouth over and over again for several minutes, but couldn’t seem to get the words out.

“Ianto?” Jack prodded, but didn’t try to remove his hand. 

After a few more minutes, Ianto whispered, “Can you stay?” Jack’s expression was thoughtful, but confused. “I, umm, I haven’t really been sleeping well, so umm… I was wondering if you could keep me company… but if not don’t worry about it, I’ll be-” 

“I’d love to stay Ianto,” Jack was giving him a warm look that made Ianto simultaneously feel taken care of and small. 

Ianto’s face hardened, “If you’re only doing this out of pity, then don’t bother!” Ianto spat, reflexively lashing out the minute he started feeling too vulnerable.

Jack sighed, “I’m not doing this out of pity Ianto. I want to help because I care about you.” At Ianto’s silence Jack continued, “Needing help isn’t something to be ashamed of.”

Jack pulled Ianto to his feet, “Let’s go lay down.”

“I told you, I haven’t been sleeping,” Ianto responded stubbornly, but Jack didn’t stop leading him through the apartment.

“Well, I’m hoping having someone else here will change that… at least lay down for a little while to humor me?” Jack shot Ianto one of his patented smirks, and Ianto didn’t stand a chance.

“Alright but if I’m not asleep within an hour you can’t force me to stay in bed.”

“Deal.” Once they were in the room, Jack let go of him and Ianto immediately missed the contact. “Would you be comfortable if I stripped down to my boxers?” Jack asked, “I don’t normally wear anything when I sleep.”

Ianto nodded, face flushing, “Yeah… I do the same.” The two men slipped out of their clothes and into bed. At first they both lay on their backs, several inches apart. After a minute or two Jack sighed loudly and turned to face Ianto, manhandling the younger man until Jack was spooning him. “Is this okay?” Jack asked and Ianto nodded slightly, relaxing after the initial shock. 

“Tell me if it gets to be too much,” Jack said, and before Ianto could ask what he meant, Jack leaned in even closer, and whispered in his ear, “I’m going to list all of the reasons why you’re so important to Torchwood and to me, and unless you absolutely can’t stand it, you’re going to listen to me, okay?”

Ianto hesitated, “Jack… I don’t know about-”

“You keep us all on track and you work so hard to make sure that everything is where it should be for when we need it.” Ianto took in a shaky breath.

“You make the best damn coffee I’ve ever had.” Ianto tried to lighten the mood by joking, “I knew you only kept me around for my coffee…” But Jack only gave him a warning squeeze, and continued speaking.

“You have a wicked sense of humor and you do your best to take care of us.” Ianto felt his eyes begin to feel warm.

“You’re selfless and brave and would risk everything you have, including your own life, to save the people you care about.” Ianto’s face began to itch as warm tear tracks made their way down his face, but he didn’t dare move an inch so as not to give himself away.

“You have one of the kindest hearts I’ve ever seen even though the world has rarely, if ever, shown you that kindness back...” Ianto’s breath hitched and he let out a quiet whine.

“And maybe that’s because you feel so much more than almost anyone I’ve ever met in spite of the fact that you try to hide it behind that stoic facade because you think it makes you weak even though it makes you infinitely stronger…” Ianto’s body was shaking now and he hid his face in the pillow, minutely shaking his head as if to try and deny what Jack was saying. 

“And most important of all, you make the lives of the people around you so much brighter and the world would be so much worse off if you weren’t here… there are so many people who care about you… you are so loved Ianto, never forget that.” Something inside Ianto cracked in half, and all of a sudden he was sobbing uncontrollably, shuddering violently, emitting a barely audible keen.

“Shhh,” Jack whispered, turning Ianto so that the young man’s face was buried in Jack’s neck as he rubbed his back soothingly with one hand and ran the other through Ianto’s hair, “It’s okay, you’re going to be okay, just let it out.”

Jack continued to murmur reassuring nonsense into Ianto’s ear as the man fell apart in Jack’s arms. After about half an hour Ianto seemed to be all cried out, but he didn’t try to move away. If anything he burrowed in deeper.

Jack heard Ianto sniffle quietly and the older man pulled away slightly, grabbing several tissues from the bedside table and gently wiping the tears and snot off of Ianto’s face (and also his own neck and shoulder). He turned to throw the used tissues into the wastebin near Ianto’s bed but missed. ‘That can be dealt with later,’ he thought. As he turned back towards Ianto, he felt the other man suddenly thread a hand through his hair and pull him into a searing, messy kiss.

Fighting against his desires, Jack pulled back, “I’m not going to do this right now Ianto.” Seeing apprehension spread across Ianto’s face, Jack rushed to reassure, “I want to be with you very much, believe me I do, but I’m not going to take advantage of you like this…”

Ianto scoffed, “I’m not some disney princess Jack, you’re not ‘taking advantage.’”

“I know you’re not a disney princess, but you are incredibly emotionally vulnerable right now and I don’t want you to regret anything if this is simply because you’re touch starved or you feel like this is a way to feel emotional release.”

Jack put his finger up to Ianto’s lips to silence any protest, “Give it until at least the morning Ianto.” Without waiting for an answer, Jack flipped Ianto so that he was spooning him again and wrapped him up in the blankets. “I don’t not trust you Ianto, I just don’t think it would be smart for us to do this right now.”

Despite being slightly upset at Jack, Ianto did understand what he meant, and the combination of how tired he was from the crying and how safe he felt at that moment, Ianto quickly fell asleep. 

While he did wake up violently from a nightmare several hours later, screaming, Jack was there to reassure him and hold him while he shook, lulling him back to sleep.

The next morning, Ianto woke feeling more rested than he had in a long time; potentially as long as before canary wharf. In their sleep the two men had shifted so that Jack was on his back, Ianto laid across his right side. When Ianto moved slightly, Jack stirred, looking up at Ianto. Ianto smiled, and not wasting any more time, leaned down and gave Jack a searing kiss. 

“It’s morning,” Ianto murmured when they briefly broke apart to breathe, before diving back in. As nice as the kiss was, the position they were in made the angle incredibly awkward, and Ianto moved to straddle Jack, giving himself better leverage to deepen the kiss further.

Jack hummed happily, letting Ianto control the kiss for the time being. His hum turned into a moan as Ianto ground down onto his crotch, and Jack could feel himself harden in his briefs. He moved one hand from Ianto’s hair, down his chest, until it teased at Ianto’s boxers. Ianto instinctively tensed up when he felt Jack’s fingers slide under the band of his underwear, but Jack shushed him, “You know I don’t care Ianto...this won’t affect how I see you at all, this doesn’t make you any less of a man.” Ianto relaxed back into Jack, rocking up slightly into Jack’s fingers as they panted into each other’s mouths. 

Jack started to flip Ianto so that their positions were reversed, but the minute Jack tightened his grip around Ianto’s sides, the younger man cried out in pain. 

“Shit, fuck, I’m sorry Ianto I completely forgot,” Jack frantically apologized, petting the top of Ianto’s head. 

“Not your fault Jack, I kind of forgot the whole broken ribs thing myself,” Ianto winced. 

Jack huffed out a quiet laugh, “I guess we should put a hold on this until after Owen clears you for physical activity, huh?” Ianto grumbled but nodded his head in agreement. 

Jack laid down next to Ianto. After several seconds of silence Ianto looked over at Jack nervously, “I didn’t know if you knew about… you know… I should have told you about that, sorry for umm, not giving you a heads up. I got carried away and it wasn’t until you already had your hand down my pants that I realized I hadn’t made sure you knew and-”

Jack cut him off with a kiss. “I haven’t known you were trans for long… it wasn’t until last week when you were down to your underwear that I noticed, well I hope this doesn’t make you feel bad, but I noticed the lack of a bulge and the scars on your chest.”

“I wasn’t sure if Owen would have told you when he did my first physical.”

Jack smiled softly, “Owen may act like he doesn’t care but he’s the only one who has access to the team’s medical records… I’d have to knock him out to get em… he wouldn’t ever share that information with anyone without your permission.”

“I was planning on switching him to decaf when I got back from leave for not letting me come back to work for two goddamn weeks,” Ianto was smirking now, “but maybe I won’t now that I know he isn’t a complete and utter git.”

Jack threw his head back in laughter and Ianto was mesmerized by how free Jack looked. As if he’d jinxed them, less than a minute after that thought, Jack’s phone rang, “Torchwood,” Jack explained when he looked at the caller ID, and the weight Jack carried as captain was immediately back on his shoulders. 

Jack listened to someone on the other side, “Alright I’m coming in now.” He hung up and glanced over at Ianto apologetically, “Gotta go help the team round up something that came through the rift.”

“Do you need my help?” Ianto asked, getting out of bed right after Jack. 

“No, you stay here and rest… it shouldn’t take long.” 

Ianto pouted. “Can I at least come in and see myfanwy?” Ianto pulled out his best puppy dog eyes. Jack looked at him, trying to conceal his smile, but it was a losing battle. 

“Fine. But only if you agree to not do any work.”

“Pinkie promise, sir,” Ianto winked. 

The next week went by fairly similarly. Jack would stay the night at Ianto’s flat and then they would drive into the hub together: Jack to save the world and Ianto to play with Myfanwy and, when Jack wasn’t looking, do minor cleaning up. Ianto was sure that the rest of the team must be actual pigs with how much mess they made. 

Ten days after their first night sleeping together, Ianto sauntered into Jack’s office, leaned on the desk, and giving Jack a sly look, announced, “So… just got back from the med bay and Owen’s cleared me for full physical activity, sir.”

Grinning mischievously, Jack looked Ianto up and down slowly in a way that made Ianto hot and bothered and then shouted out into the main area of the hub, “Ianto and I need to look over a new artifact in my private room don’t bother us unless the world is ending!” And then snatched Ianto’s wrist, pulling him towards the manhole. 

“Why sir, do I need to remind you of Torchwood’s sexual harassment policy?” Ianto teased, not able to keep the smile off his face. At the exact same time Owen yelled, “Gross! New artifact my ass you fucking wankers,” from the main hangar.

Jack leaned in for a quick kiss before shooing Ianto down the ladder and following him right behind him into his bedroom. Saving the world could wait; he needed to show a certain Welshman just how much he meant to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If people want more of this universe and/or smut let me know in the comments and I'll add some more chapters :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this I should be updating this with the final chapter very soon so keep an eye out! If you liked what you read plz plz plz leave a kudos and/or comments they fuel me :)


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